Privacy Policy

Last updated October 24, 2026

One-Minute Witness ("the app", "we", "our") is built around a simple rule: your recordings are yours, and by default they never leave your device. This page explains, in plain language, everything the app does and does not do with your information.

What the app stores, and where

When you record a reflection, the audio is encrypted with a 256-bit key that is created on your device and never leaves it, then saved to the app's private storage:

• Android: the key is held in the Android Keystore (hardware-backed where the device supports it).
• iPhone, iPad and Mac: the key is held in the Apple Keychain, available only on this device, and files use iOS Data Protection.

The title, date, mood, optional note, your hero's name and look, and — for Premium users who generate one — a transcript are stored in a local database on your device, never on our servers, because we don't operate any servers that receive this data. Chapter recaps and the soft "atmosphere" sounds are made on your device too.

On Apple devices, the home-screen widget and lock-screen player read a small summary (your latest chapter's title, this month's page count and what's playing) from storage shared only between the app and its own widget.

The app does not require an account, email address, or phone number to record, listen to, tag, or organize your reflections.

Microphone access

The app requests microphone permission only at the moment you tap the record button, and only to capture the recording you're making. The microphone is used only for a recording you start yourself — by tapping record in the app, on your watch, or "Record today's minute" on your car's screen — and it stops when you finish or reach your time limit. While one of those recordings is running from the car, Android shows a "Recording today's minute" notification. The app never listens otherwise, and it does not analyze speech content for mood, keywords, or any other purpose — mood is always a word you choose yourself.

In the car and on your watch

Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. When your phone is connected to a car, the app can show your chapter and page titles on the car's screen so you can choose something to play, and it can record today's minute hands-free. The car screen is drawn by your phone; the app doesn't send your recordings or titles to the car maker, Google or Apple. Titles shown in the car may be visible to passengers. On Android, only Android Auto and the system's own media controls can browse your library — other apps on your phone are refused.

Apple Watch. A minute recorded on the watch is sent straight to your iPhone over Apple's encrypted watch connection, where it's encrypted and kept like any other recording; the watch deletes its copy as soon as your iPhone has it. If you choose "Play on Watch", the pages of that chapter are copied to the watch so you can listen there, and deleted when you stop listening. Chapter titles are shared with the watch so it can list them. Nothing goes through our servers — we don't have any.

Optional: backups to your own iCloud or Google Drive

Backup & Restore is an opt-in Premium feature that nothing else in the app depends on. A backup is one file — your reflections, recap details and audio, packed into a zip — and it goes only to storage that belongs to you. The audio inside a backup is not encrypted with the on-device key (that key never leaves your device, so a backup made with it couldn't be restored on a new phone); it is protected by your iCloud or Google account instead and travels over an encrypted (TLS) connection. A backup made on one platform can be restored on the other.

iCloud (iPhone, iPad, Mac). The file is saved in the app's own private iCloud Drive container, under your Apple Account. We can't see it. You can delete it in Settings › [your name] › iCloud › Manage Storage.

Google Drive (Android and Apple devices).

• You sign in with your Google Account (Android's Credential Manager, or Google's own sign-in page on Apple devices), so the app can show your name and email in Settings.
• The app asks permission to use a single, hidden, app-specific folder in your Google Drive (Drive's appDataFolder) — a space that isn't visible in your normal Drive file list and that no other app can read.
• Restoring only ever runs automatically when the app's library is empty (a fresh install), so it never silently overwrites recordings you already have.
• We never request, read, or store anything else in your Google Account — no other Drive files, no Gmail, no contacts, nothing beyond that one app-private folder.
• You can revoke this access at any time from your Google Account's third-party access settings, or by signing out from within the app.

Optional: Face ID, fingerprint lock and looks

If you lock the Private tab, unlocking is handled entirely by your device (Face ID or Touch ID on Apple devices, Android's Biometric framework on Android). The app never receives fingerprint or face data — only a yes/no result. On Android, Dynamic color reads your wallpaper's palette locally to tint the app; the felt and glass looks are drawn on your device. Nothing about either is sent anywhere.

Purchases

Premium subscriptions are bought through the App Store or Google Play. Apple or Google handle the payment; the app only learns whether your subscription is active. We never see your card or payment details.

What we don't do

• No advertising, ad networks, or advertising identifiers in the app.
• No third-party analytics or crash-tracking SDKs that collect usage data off-device.
• No public profile, feed, followers, comments, or any way for another person to see your recordings.
• No selling, renting, or sharing of your personal data with third parties.
• No AI analysis of your voice or speech content — moods are chosen by you, and Premium transcription (where available on your device) runs without uploading your audio for that purpose.

Data deletion

You can delete any individual reflection, its note, or its transcript at any time from within the app — deleting a transcript never deletes the audio, and vice versa. Uninstalling the app removes all of its local data from your device. If you've used a backup, deleting the backup file from your iCloud storage, or from Google Drive (or revoking the app's Drive access, link above), removes the copy stored there. A minute recorded on Apple Watch is deleted from the watch as soon as your iPhone has it.

This website

This website (oneminutewitness.compsgeek.in) is separate from the app. It shows ads through Google AdSense, and Google and its partners may use cookies to show and measure those ads. You can control personalised ads at Google's ad settings. Your choice of the felt or glass look is remembered only in your own browser. Nothing you record in the app ever reaches this website.

Children

One-Minute Witness is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from them.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, we'll update the date at the top of this page. Continued use of the app after a change means you accept the updated policy.

Contact

Questions about privacy or your data can be sent to support@compsgeek.in.